Delhi Capitals captain Axar Patel during a press conference ahead of the IPL 2026 season in New Delhi. (PTI) NEW DELHI: In an era of ephemeral flamboyance in cricket, Axar Patel is an outlier. The all-rounder played a key role in India winning three ICC titles – two T20 World Cups and the Champions Trophy – in a span of 21 months. He won games with both bat and ball and his fielding was equally memorable.Who could forget his catch when he dismissed Mitchell Marsh with a perfectly timed dive in deep square leg at Gros Islet in 2024, or the effort at a crowded Wankhede where he came back from the spot to grab England captain Harry Brook’s skier during a thrilling T20 World Cup semi-final.
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Axar Patel questions Impact Player rule: ‘All-rounders lose value’Then there was Will Jacks catch in the same game. While the scorecard will credit Shivam Dube, it was a wonderful effort by Axar that made all the difference. He plucked the ball on the run, lost his balance without losing awareness of the boundary pads and threw it to the converging Dube to complete the dismissal.The 32-year-old was always hailed as a team man until the very end. Over the years, he has been labeled as India’s “crisis man”, “underrated”, “Ravindra Jadeja’s stand-in” and has even been labeled a “bridesmaid forever”.The 2026 edition of the Indian Premier League gives him a chance to shed those marks. Axar, who is leading the Delhi Capitals for the second consecutive season, has the opportunity to cap off the pinnacle moment of his career.At the Delhi Capitals pre-season press conference on Monday, Axar deservedly got all the plaudits, but he looked like a man on a mission. IPL 2026 could also mark a defining chapter for the player who has given his sweat, tears and blood to a franchise that is often seen as an eternal IPL outlier as he enters his eighth consecutive season.
Delhi Capitals captain Axar Patel (right) and director of cricket Venugopal Rao during a press conference ahead of the IPL 2026 season. (PTI Photo)
“You learn a lot in your first year as a captain, both about your players, about situations and about yourself as a leader. I feel more settled now. I understand the players better, what works for this team and what kind of environment we want to create,” Axar said.“We focus on being positive, aggressive and most importantly building confidence. When the players feel that support and confidence, they automatically take responsibility and perform better. That’s something I’m clear about as captain.”Delhi Capitals will begin their campaign on April 1 against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium. The first task for Axar will be to start the campaign with a win. The Delhi franchise has come close many times in the past but failed to get the job done. Axar knows this very well having played 84 matches for Delhi.MUST READ | Underrated, indispensable: Why Axar Patel remains India’s unsung MVP“We don’t sit and talk about the past. Everyone knows we’ve come close at times and as players you’re aware of that anyway. The conversation is always about what we can do better going forward. Maybe one or two games could change things, but that’s the way the game goes. We’re focused on staying positive and improving as a whole, rather than taking those thoughts into the new season,” he said.
Everyone knows we’ve come close at times, and as players you’re aware of that anyway. The conversation is always about what we can do better in the future
Delhi Capitals captain Axar Patel
If Delhi Capitals are to end the drought, Axar will have to step up with bat, ball and as captain. Interestingly, Axar has never crossed the 300-run mark in the IPL in the 162 games he has played in twelve years. The all-rounder is yet to better his debut season with the ball where he picked up 17 wickets for Kings XI Punjab, now Punjab Kings. But as Delhi Capitals Director of Cricket Venugopal Rao said, the management is confident that Axar will get the nod for that elusive trophy.“Franchise cricket and the Indian team are completely different. There are different cultures. At the franchise level, there are players from different countries who come together and play. In the Indian team, everyone knows how they are going to play. The winning mentality of the Indian team is that everyone is flexible enough to adapt to any role and conditions. At the franchise level, as a captain, there is only one way I would like to bring.“The roles are set in the Indian team. At the franchise level, sometimes an opener has to play in the middle order.“I am very excited about the new season. Whatever mistakes we made last season, we have good reserves in the starting slot and pace department in the auction. We have a full squad and we are very excited to fight for the title,” added Axar.
Delhi Capitals coach Hemang Badani (R) and captain Axar Patel during a press conference ahead of the IPL 2026 season. (PTI)
Axar also made it pretty clear that, as an all-rounder, he’s not a big fan of the Impact Player rule. “As an all-rounder, I am personally not a fan of the Impact Player rule. Earlier, you would have to pick all-rounders. Because of this, team management can pick a particular batsman or bowler. So I am not a fan of it,” he said.Axar Patel also shared what he learned from captaining Delhi last season. Lest I forget, he is the vice-captain of India’s title-winning T20 World Cup team and was knocked out in the Super Eight against South Africa due to head-to-head matches.“I’m not saying I don’t look at the data or the matches at all. It depends on the situation. I look at all the factors and judge. It’s not that I don’t look at the matches or the data. I watch everything and then it depends. You have to know when to use what weapon. When you’re on the ground and you’re making a decision, it’s about what you feel in that moment. You obviously say it. You obviously go.For Axar Patel, IPL 2026 is not just another season, it is a chance to redefine his story. At the center of Delhi Capitals’ ambitions now stands a player who has long been admired for his selflessness. If he can combine his all-round consistency with decisive leadership, this could finally be the season where he moves from reliable support player to top-price man.
